Stoicism for Alzheimer's?

 

My next book is titled:

The Pursuit of Happiness with Alzheimer's Year 3

Subtitle?

"For what is joy if it goes unrecorded, and what is love if it is not shared?" (from Midwives)

This quote below from Stoicism quotes link.

I think it is quite apt for me.

"True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.―Seneca

I am thinking my Year 4 book will be titled:

Alzheimer's is Inexorable 

It requires true grit and fortitude.

Definition of grit:

 

courage and resolve; strength of character.

"he displayed the true grit of the navy pilot"

Definition of fortitude:

1. courage in pain or adversity.

   "she endured her illness with great fortitude"

My Cognoscopy report from Atma Holistic Clinic Part One

 I mainly went to the Atma clinic to obtain the ReCODE blood work called the Cognoscopy. 

I will post the first half of my Cognoscopy in this blog.

I am waiting for the second part of my tests which is called the Nutrient part

I was intrigued about the batch of tests and now I offer the data to anyone considering getting the Cognoscopy as advised by Dr. Dale Bredensen from his book The End of Alzheimer's. 

I have gotten almost all these labs before, so no real surprise. 

Your doctor can order these tests covered by insurance and cheaper.  

However, the Atma Holistic MD may have a different interpretation

In my case, you will find that my Mcv and Mch are slightly high which reflects my alcohol intake.  My liver enzymes are normal.

My homocysteine and ferritin are normal but the Atma MD thought they could be better?

In the book, The End of Alzheimer's, normal homocysteine is considered less than 7.  

That is very low. 

 

No one with Mild Cognitive Disfunction has developed Late Alzheimers on Recode?

On November 19 I saw a  ReCode specialist for Atma Clinics.   

The visit was done on ZOOM.  

He spent an hour with me going over my nutrient report. 

The most interesting thing he said to me was that anyone with Mild Cognitive Impairment who follows the ReCode protocol does not have worsening of their dementia.  

 This Arizona MD was impressed that my serum keto level was 2.2.

Thus they accept the fact I am on a Low Carb High Fat Diet.  

Next month I see the nutritionist.  I have low expectations. 

Other than getting the extensive Cognoscopy lab work, which I never ordered on my patients I wanted to go to a group that has experience giving the exotic Asian drugs. 

He mentioned giving me Ashwagandha which is known to reduce Amyloid.  This puzzles me as Dr. Dale Bredesen minimizes the Amyloid effect on Alzheimer's. 

Now that I am entering the fourth year since diagnosing my Alzheimer's disease I am willing to try a nostrum like this as well as optimizing my supplement medication.  

Surprisingly he said I was low in the B vitamins.

I take a Centrum multivitamin which claims it has more than 100 daily requirements of the B vitamins.  

Thus I added on a B complex pill.  

He said I may have trouble converting the pills to the biological form and may need a different preparation of B vitamin (more natural?) which is probably more expensive. 

ReCODE stands for Reversing Cognitive Decline 

which is more of a bold claim than simply stopping the decline in its tracts. 

Not traveling with the Covid19 pandemic has given me the time this year to concentrate on this protocol.  

Does anybody get a Zinc:Copper ratio?

 In my medical practice, I never worried about Zinc deficiency.

If a patient was on a strict weight-reduction diet I would advise a multivitamin with minerals.   

After reading The End of Alzheimer's by Dr. Dale Bredesen,  I have increased my Zinc intake from 

11 to 33mg. Taking more than 50 mg/day can be toxic.

I also enrolled in the Bredesen recode program at the Lawrence Atma Holistic clinic.

I was told I have a good copper: zinc ratio? I never heard of this before, only that we should have a low copper level. For exams, I learned about the genetic disorder Wilsons disease. I never saw a case.

 

Above is from The End of Alzheimer's.

New study on probiotics and Alzheimers

 Probiotics help with Alzheimer's link

Conclusion: We report a novel association between gut microbiota-related products and systemic inflammation with brain amyloidosis via endothelial dysfunction, suggesting that SCFAs and LPS represent candidate pathophysiologic links between the gut microbiota and AD pathology.

I started with Sam's Gummie bear link

The Gummie bear has 3 billion CFU per serving of two gummies.

I recently switched to a higher dose of CFU's

at 10 billion CFU

 The End of Alzheimer's advises 30 to 50 billion CFU a day

"Conversely, high levels of another short-chain fatty acid, butyrate, were associated with less amyloid pathology.”

The Love of Dogs

 I have been fortunate in my life to have three dogs that I loved.  

The first was an English Bulldog that my parents purchased when I came back at 19 years old after a summer in Europe.

I came home vitamin deficient and tired.  I laid with the puppy on the couch for two days.  I think this bonded the dog for the rest of my life.

I lived with my parents and walked to Brooklyn College each morning.  My Dad took care of Suzie but she lived for me to come home.  My Dad would feed Suzie each day and yet when I was in my room Suzie waited outside my door for me.  Unrequited love. I loved Suzie but her love for me was unconditional. 

Dogs teach about love.  

My next great dog was an English Springer Spaniel.  

This was the type of dog I always wanted.  Even as a puppy she would just follow me as we walked. I never needed a leash. I took hikes with him following me.  We would come to a fork in the trail and he would look back at me and wait for me to point which trail to take.  This was a true boy and his dog love relationship even though I was middle age.

My present dog is just as great a love but I clearly love my Newfoundland more than she loves me.  She is 125 pounds and is a rescue dog.  She is my wife's dog.  She follows her all around the house.  I fell in love with her. She is the perfect dog for an older couple.  She sleeps all day.  She is not needy.  She does not beg at the dinner table.  She knows our boundaries and doesn't whine.  She rarely barks.  She is the sweetest dog with children and loves all people.  

2020 Cognitive Exams

 Summary of my Alzheimers tests in 2020

1- I aced my test on Feb 20, 2020

2- MOCA vs TOCA 

3- Why has my MOCA not gotten worse on Sept. 4, 2020

4- I forgot how to spell "YES" Jan 2020

5-Swerdlow said to keep doing what I am doing August 2020

Reality checks in the day after Election Day

 I thought there was going to be a Blue Wave with an early election result by 10 PM after the Democrats beat GOP by winning Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia early.

This morning I am trying to

1- process what happened, 

2-why it happened and

3- how do I need to change my bias.

 I had a fantasy dream wish of the DEMS winning the Senate.  

The wishful thinking was dashed when Mitch McConnell (Ky) and Lindsey Graham won their seats easily.

I believed the polls that these races would be much closer.  I was appalled by Graham's change of heart about his opinion of Trump and both of them forcing the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court so close to the election when they prevented Obama from getting his candidate into the court a year before the election. 

It's all about Power Politics now.  

I went to bed around midnight eastern time. 

Later I checked my phone and was surprised Trump won Florida.

I realized then it was very possible Trump might win which again crushed my vision of not only Biden winning but winning with control of the senate.

How did this happen?

Clearly, the GOP had a surge of voters similar to the DEMS.

How can so many people vote for Trump when he lies so much and has not taken early actions to lower the deaths of Covid19.

McConnell always had his eye on control of the Supreme court. 

For many voters, this superseded concerns about the personal behavior of Trump concerning his taxes, his finance, his affairs, his relation to Putin just to name a few. 

I think White America is concerned about opening the border to immigrants and the Black Lives Matter movement.  

They also want to protect their guns and reverse Roe vs. Wade.

They share the concern of Cubans and Venazulians that Biden will bring socialism to the USA.

Much of that is propaganda and miss information. 

This morning at 10 AM central time Steve Kornacki says that Biden must win the states he is leading in: Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, and Wisconsin must be won, and then Biden may win enough votes in Maine to get to win the electoral college. 

We won't know the results of Nevada till tomorrow and PA may take longer. 

The good side of counting the votes taking so long makes me feel it will be more difficult for Trump to dispute the results. 

Also if Trump wins I think I and other Dems just have to accept it.

The Dems almost won in Texas.  Next time the Dems will win in Texas.  It is only a matter of time that the Demographic chips will be cashed in by the DEMS. 

Why has there been such a division in this country?

Trump is no longer a one-off.

He clearly represents the hopes and needs of many people in this country who feel they have been ignored and called the "deplorables".

This elitist superiority against the non-college-educated followers of Trump may be as bad as Trump's call to racism and fascism.

This needs to stop on both sides. 

I was shocked by how many people have voted for Trump.

But it is the reality and I realized I need to be much more tolerant of the intolerant in both parties. 

I hope Biden is elected as he will bring the country together and truly take care of the forgotten man in the USA.

  

 

 

The Most Significant Presidential Election in the history of USA

 The most significant USA election ever!

2 years 11 months ago I was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

My biggest fear would be that I would not be able to follow what was happening with the Presidential election.

Election day has come. 

I suspect the joyful intellectual stimulation of following the unfolding of events closely has helped keep me mentally sharp.  

The Mueller report, the Impeachment, and now the election.

I know more about politics now than I ever did during my whole life. 

Florida and North Carolina may be called first. 

If Biden wins both, then the election is over.

The Senate is also up for grabs by the Democrats. 

I think it is clear the Dems will turn the four seats they need to take control of the Senate.

Colorado, Maine, Arizona, and North Carolina are very likely to turn today. 

Amazingly with the Blue wave that I predict will happen there will be several more wins. 

The most intriguing event of the night will be to see if Texas Georgia become Blue for the first time in decades. 

I don't worry about the Conservative control of the Supreme court. I believe that institution is concerned about self-preservation.  If Obamacare or Roe vs Wade is struck down by SCOTUS,  Biden will pack the court.

 

Groundhog's day seems to happen every week with COVID 19

Every Friday seems to come in 24-hour cycles.

With Covid19 my daily routine is so similar that the only thing that is different is on Fri when the housekeepers would come.

It was always an annoyance to me because I had to clear my bathroom counter so that they could clean it.

This was a major departure from my daily routine which I loved as all the other days were totally free for me to do whatever I wanted. 

Every morning I avoid any chores.

I wake up whenever I feel like it. 

Then I make coffee and go to the basement where I watch Morning Joe on recording on my 

85 inch Samsung TV.

I am on my computer with Twitter and Blogging at the same time. 

I sit in my big leather chair and cover myself with two blankets as I am always cold.

In my cacoon, I feel safe, happy and content.

During the day I usually pace and walk a mile around the block. 

I also do 4 types of dumbbell exercises.  

Then I lay on the floor to stretch while giving my Newfie treats to lay next to me.  

My diet is also regimented but satisfying. 

My wife and I usually start watching TV series after lunch. 

I often have a glass of wine after lunch and then before dinner I have a cocktail. 

See No Evil bar link

I try to improve my life each day by reading and writing on Twitter and blogs.

I try to accomplish something each day by writing my book:

The Pursuit of Happiness with Alzheimer's

Year 3

My major task each day is to take my pills in the morning and then my supplements in the afternoon.